Global warming will affect the world’s annual fishing catch.
In a world heated by a global warming of 2°C, the annual fishing catch will decrease by 3.3 million tonnes.
In a world heated by a global warming of 1.5°C, the annual fishing catch will decrease by 1.5 million tonnes.
Express the reduction of the annual fishing catch in a world warmed by 2°C as a fraction of the reduction in annual fishing catch in a world warmed by 1.5°C.
Give your answer in its simplest form.
[2 marks]
Global warming will affect the world’s coral reefs.
In a world heated by a global warming of 2°C, we will lose 99% of coral reefs.
In a world heated by a global warming of 1.5°C, we will lose 81% of coral reefs.
Express the percentage of coral reefs lost in a world warmed by 2°C as a fraction of the amount of coral reefs lost in a world warmed by 1.5°C. Give your answer in its simplest form.
[2 marks]
The table shows information about sea level rise due to human-induced climate change.
(mm = millimetres).
Sea level rise in 2006 (mm) | Sea level rise in 2016 (mm) |
40 | 80 |
Liam claims, “From 2016 to 2026 the sea level rise will increase by the same percentage as from 2006 to 2016.” He works out,
Increase in sea level rise from 2006 to 2016 = 80 – 40
= 40
Sea level rise in 2026 = 80 + 40
= 120
Does the sea level rise of 120mm match his claim? Show your working.
[3 marks]
Climate change (or global warming) can cause the areas of deserts (very dry land) to increase, affecting the surrounding wildlife and ecosystems.
Before global warming began, the area of the Sahara Desert was 9,200,000 square kilometres.
1°C of warming has caused the area of the Sahara Desert to increase by \(x\%\).
After 1°C of warming, the area of the Sahara Desert is 9,936,000.
A further warming from 1°C to 2°C causes an added increase in the area of the Sahara Desert of\(\ 2x\%\).
What is the area of the Sahara Desert after a total of 2°C of warming?
[4 marks]
The graph shows satellite measurements of global sea level rise since 2000 plotted relative to 1993. (sea level rise measured in mm = millimetres)
a) Draw a line of best fit through the data and write an equation for your line in the form y = mx + c, to show how sea level is rising through time.
[3 marks]
b) What are the units of your value for mx, and c?
[1 mark]
c) Using your equation, work out how much higher sea level will be in 50 and 100 years’ time.
[2 marks]
Some scientists think that sea level isn’t rising with a constant rate, but is in fact accelerating.
Fitting a quadratic curve to this data gives the equation, y = 0.05x 2 + 2.6x + 21.3.
d) What are the units of the value for 0.05x2?
[1 mark]
e) Use this equation to calculate how high sea level will be in 50 and 100 years’ time.
[2 marks]
f) What is the difference between your answers in (c) and (e)?
[1 mark]
As the atmosphere warms, the air holds more water vapour, and this could lead to more intense rainfall events, resulting in an increased flood risk. In this question, assume every year has 365 days.
The graph shows how the average rainfall (in mm/day) on a rain day at Falmer, Sussex, England has varied with time.
The individual points on the graph show the observed average rainfall in mm/day.
a) What was the observed average rainfall on a rain day in 2000? Give your answer in mm/day.
[1 mark]
b) In an unrealistic model, a student presumes that every day that year was a rain day. Using this information and your answer to (a) find the total amount of rain that fell in that year. Give your answer in metres, to 2 significant figures.
[2 marks]
For the next questions refer to the line of best fit.
c) Calculate the percentage increase in average rainfall between the years 1939 and 1998.
[3 marks]
d) Calculate the percentage increase in the amount of rainfall between the years 1910 and 1920, and the years 2000 and 2010.
[4 Marks]
Human-induced warming is currently increasing at 0.02°C / year.
(a) If human-induced warming was at 0.9°C in 2010, what will it be in 2020?
[2 marks]
The graph shows how the rate of human-induced warming would fall between 2020 and 2060 if we reduce global emissions rapidly to zero over that period. Global temperatures will continue to rise as long as the rate of human-induced warming is greater than 0.
(b) Calculate the total increase in human-induced warming between the years 2020 and 2060.
[3 marks]
(c) Hence, calculate the level of human-induced warming in 2060.
[1 mark]
Jean owns a trucking company (with ten trucks) which produces 1062.8 tonnes of carbon dioxide in the year 2015. The company’s carbon emissions increase over the next two years as the business grows and the trucks spend more time on the road.
From the year 2015 to the year 2016, Jean’s company’s carbon emissions increase by \(x\%\).
In 2016, the company emits 1126.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
From the year 2016 to the year 2017, Jean’s company’s carbon emissions increase by \(\frac{x}{2}\%\) .
How many tonnes of carbon does the company emit in the year 2017? Give your answer to 3 significant figures.
[4 marks]
The temperature-time graph from https://globalwarmingindex.org/ shows how the Earth’s global average monthly temperatures have varied from the year 1880. Throughout this question, monthly global temperatures refer to the difference between the temperature in a particular month and the average temperature for that calendar month over the period 1850-1879.
a) Which year contained the month in which global temperatures first exceeded 0.5°C above the 1850-79 average?
[1 mark]
b) Estimate a value for the highest recorded monthly global temperature since 1880 and
give the year in which it was recorded.
[1 mark]
c) Estimate a value for the average monthly global temperature between 1980 and 2000.
[2 marks]
d) What is the lowest monthly global temperature recorded since 2000?
[1 mark]
The graph below shows how temperature has varied with time. The grey line shows monthly temperatures and the orange line shows an estimate of the contribution of human-induced warming to those temperatures over the same period.
a) Describe the difference between the lines showing monthly temperatures and human-
induced warming.
[2 marks]
b) In what year did human-induced warming reach 0.5K (°C)?
[1 mark]
c) Use the graph to estimate the rate of change of human-induced warming in the year
1970.
[3 marks]
d) Use the graph to estimate the rate of change of human-induced warming in the year
2000.
[3 marks]
e) What does the difference between the rate in 1970 and the rate in 2000 tell us about
how human-induced warming is changing?
[1 mark]
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